THE INLAND WATEKS FISHERIES. 19 



and of all weights and sizes. There is vacant here a field 

 for successful enterprise to men who would enter upon the 

 business with proper appliances ; those now in use on the 

 lake are crude in the extreme. 



They consist of a very indifferently hung net, and a bultow 

 or long line, to which are attached snoods about a foot in 

 length furnished with hooks ; these, when baited with meat, 

 chrysalis, grub, or other tempting morsel are lowered into the 

 water, moored, and left for some hours, very frequently all 

 night. A fish when hooked at once succumbs and remains 

 quiescent until the fisherman returns some hours later to 

 overhaul the line and collect his catch ; the fish are usually 

 lifted into the boat with a spoop net. The centre of the 

 lake is almost a dead level, and being free from obstructions 

 would seem to suit the use of the otter trawl which might be 

 employed with advantage, as also might the trammel net. 

 With such instruments as these the lake could be made to 

 yield in profusion of the abundant stores it undoubtedly holds. 



The next important fresh-water fish is the Golden Perch 

 or Yellow Belly. There are two species of this fish ( Cienolates 

 cmibiguus and C. Christy i). The first of these is common in 

 all the fresh- water creeks and rivers ; it is of a delicate flavour, 

 rich, and attains a weight of 7 lb. Its time and manner of 

 spawning are the same as the Murray cod. The fish itself, 

 too, is very beautiful in appearance. The body is of a magni- 

 ficent green, the sides and behind the dorsal are rich golden, 

 the head is a beautiful mixture of green, purple, yellow, and 

 scarlet, with fine golden tinges. The belly is white, the 

 dorsal fin purplish-green, anal scarlet with a yellow base 

 and purple end, pectorals scarlet on their bases and yellow in 

 their second half, the eye purple with an interior white ring. 

 The whole assumes a blending of rich colour which is really 

 difficult to conceive, much less is it possible to convey an 

 adequate idea of it by bare description. 



The silver perch or bream {Therapon richardsonii) is 

 another fish of extremely rich and delicate flavour, and 

 attains a weight of 5 lb. or 6 lb. It is usually captured by 

 means of a net, the small size of its mouth preventing its 

 taking the hook commonly used. There are several species 

 of this genus in Australian waters, but they do not call for 

 special comment. 



The blackfish {Gadopsis marmoratus) is common to our 

 rivers generally. Ichthyologically regarded, this fish is a 



